He had the light now. He actually had it. All for himself, just like he wanted. And the best part?
It didn’t laugh at him this time.
No, no, the only one laughing now was him. He laughed at its screams, its agony, its begging for release. He laughed as he broke off pieces of it, throwing them away like freshly fallen snow on a winter’s eve. Since he was a part of the light now, it no longer hurt him. Oh, but he could hurt it. He could definitely hurt it.
Finally, the one thing he wanted most in this realm was his. He had his vengeance, oh yes, he did, and how sweet it tasted. To no longer have one foot in one world and one foot in the other. Now he was fully out of the shadows and into the light, and he was the light’s master.
But it wasn’t enough, he realized. No, now that the light was finally his, it’d never be enough. He needed more. But what could possibly taste sweeter than the light? He looked up.
And he laughed.
It was just over his head the entire time. Both figuratively and literally. The ultimate light. The light to end all lights. It could be his. All his. He’d need to take the proper steps, of course, but soon this light would be his. And he will be its master as well. And once it burned away all the shadows and darkness, he’ll finally become the light. Become the most beautiful thing in existence. Become what he cherished yet feared most of all.
The light’s sobbing finally stopped. It remained silent. Then, he began to laugh. The light joined with him. But instead of a laugh like ringing bells, this laugh was dry and dead.
The laugh of a corpse, one might think.
The land was wrapped in the harsh embrace of flames, the air itself filled with the presence of the burning fires that covered the realm in its destructive touch. You couldn’t fight it, you couldn’t escape it, you couldn’t even beg mercy from it. You simply died, burned to ash, just like everything else.
This was Celestia’s world now. The world she envisioned. The world she could finally make complete, after one last duty to fulfill.
“Burn in Tartarus, baby sister!” Celestia screamed in a joyous tone. An inferno surrounded her like a solid wall, pushing out across the land like a moving force of pure annihilation that extinguished all in its path. “Burn like the countless others that shall join you! You’re only the stepping stone for the rest!”
Pinpricks of sweat formed on Luna’s body as the heat washed over her. She alighted into the air, wincing as the waves of heat brushed past her tail and hind legs. She stopped after reaching several hundred feet into the air and looked down upon the ground. She choked back a scream as she lay her eyes upon what had once been a verdant forest. Thousands of trees, gone.
“Celestia…” Luna whispered in disbelief. “By the stars… what have you done?”
The trees and animal life were a loss, but that wasn’t the worst of it. The Royal Pony Sisters’ castle had miraculously survived the worst of the infernal shockwave, but the surrounding buildings…
The screams of the dying and the smell of freshly burnt skin assailed her nostrils. Luna let out a sob as her eyes watched sunfire given life burn down anything that it touched.
“No…” Luna whimpered. “Sister…” She felt her lips trembling. She looked down to Celestia, who stood within the epicenter of the destruction. She didn’t even bat an eyelash at the countless souls who were now at the merciless hands of her flames.
“What have you done?!” Luna cried out, her voice reaching a hysterical tone. “Celestia, why? Why?!” She shook her head, and forced down the despair and agony growing in her chest. She focused on her sister, and her sister alone.
The voices, which constantly belittled her, had gone quiet. In their place was a new feeling. Not depression. Not sadness.
Anger.
Rage.
Fury.
None of them had a chance. Not a single one! Luna watched the smoke billow up to the night sky. Sister, forgive me. I truly have lost you, it seems.
Luna’s horn glowed for a moment, and her katana once more floated beside her. The previous spell that she had launched at Celestia had no effect on her. If anything, Celestia appeared to absorb the magic. Whatever dark energy that Celestia had courted, it seemed to become one with her.
Luna descended from the sky, landing on the cracked, smoking ground with a heavy thud. Her eyes held no uncertainty in them now. Her blade lifted, its steel edge glinting in the light of the surrounding fires. Faint runes etched into the metal gave of a soft, azure glow.
“I see now how far you’re willing to take this,” Luna said over the roar of the blazing fires. “I also see that drawing this fight out is foolish.” She let out a heavy sigh, but otherwise gave no visible expression.
In a flash, Luna flickered to Celestia’s side. She thrust her blade to Celestia’s side, aiming it so that it would pierce her in the side, through her lungs and heart.
Her sword only met the surface of Celestia’s shield, which acted like plated armor. Celestia’s head slowly turned to where Luna was standing, her sword uselessly pushing against her shield. “Still playing with those toothpicks, baby sister?” Celestia lashed out with a whip of pure magic, aimed directly at Luna’s neck. “This isn’t amateur hour! Hit me with your best shot!”
Luna whipped her head to the side, narrowly avoiding her neck being slashed in two by Celestia’s whip, but still earning a large gash on her cheek. Though she didn’t have a moment’s rest, for another whip soon joined Celestia’s first and lashed at her face, and then another, and another, a swarm of twisting fingers formed from pure magic swirling around Celestia like tentacles on an octopus, all poised to strike.
“And if you’re tired of letting this fight drag on for so long, let’s end it right here, right now!” Celestia said, laughing at the top of her lungs as she directed all her golden whips to tear Luna to shreds. “With only one of us walking away alive!”
Luna took in a breath and watched as the whips lashed out towards her. She exhaled, and darted forward. Right as the blades were about to connect, she rolled to the side, feeling a stinging sensation graze her left side. She ignored the slight pain and dashed headlong towards her sister.
Her eyes assessed Celestia’s movements. She was, for the most part, stationary. She could already see the whips pulling back towards her, though Luna would reach Celestia before they did. Celestia was facing slightly to the left, likely to allow her to spin and deliver a quick buck with both of her back legs, if needed. Luna had fallen for that trick a dozen or so times in the few spars they had.
Her wings were fanned out, and she saw no attachments to them that would indicate weapons were covering them. The gleaming of her golden armor, while a little blinding, wasn’t affecting her too much.
Luna smirked to herself.
An attack from a single direction won’t work. Perhaps…
Luna leaped forward, blade slashing ahead, aimed at her sister’s throat. Luna vanished from view as the blade continued its slashing motion, only to materialize suddenly above Celestia. She twisted her body around, and aimed her hind legs downwards, over Celestia’s back. She rocketed downwards with speed unnatural for even the most agile of pegasi.
Magic won’t work. If that is the case, I suppose I’ll have to settle for steel and hooves, won’t I?
Luna’s hooves connected with Celestia’s back, and then the soil. In the time of the impact, Celestia had merely vanished without a trace, along with any point of stopping for Luna herself. She landed with less grace than she would have liked on the blackened earth, still so hot to the touch Luna had to avoid exposing her skin to it. Getting back to all fours, she glanced all about, searching desperately for any signs of her sister. But all there was were burning fires and embers falling like raindrops from the air.
A self-satisfied laugh echoed across the fallow lands, sending shivers up Luna’s back. “Do you really think it’d be that easy, baby sister? I’m not just some useless twit you have fought in battles countless times over. I’m much more than that. Much more than anything you could possibly imagine. And I can assure you of this, Luna…” Celestia materialized out of the blaze of one of the scattered fires. She didn’t just walk out, no, she transformed into her physical form from the elemental form of the inferno. From fire to mare she appeared, the flames licking at her skin but didn’t even tarnish her perfect white coat. “This is a fight you won’t win.”
Celestia shifted to her body of flames again, stampeding to Luna like a pony from the deepest depths of Tartarus itself. Each step turned the ground into lava, a roar escaping Celestia’s throat that even a dragon would be intimidated of. Celestia the pony wasn’t here. Only Celestia the flaming abomination remained, poised to trample Luna underneath her burning hooves.
“And suddenly I’m reminded of the Minotaur Wars…” Luna commented to herself, lifting her blade once more. Celestia had gained some speed with this transformation of hers. Luna’s scabbard rested at her waist, tied on by a single chain of steel. She watched her sister, who did not seem to be intent on slowing down for hell or high water at the moment.
Luna closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. Her ears flicked as they picked up the vibrations of Celestia’s flaming hooves pounding against the ground, growing closer by the second. The Night Princess crouched low and opened her eyes. She slowly sheathed her blade, her eyes not leaving Celestia’s.
The heat that buffeted against her face was powerful, but she paid it no mind. Her only objective at the moment was her charging sister.
The guard of Luna’s blade clicked against the end of her scabbard. Celestia was only a few heartbeats from trampling her.
Now!
Luna’s magic drew out the blade with such speed that sparks flew from the steel edge. A cold wind rose up as she slashed her blade in an upward arc. Pockets of wind cut through the hot air, blowing out several of the fires in the process.
The Night Princess’ eyes never left her sisters as her blade cut upwards. She could smell burning metal, and if she dared tear her eyes away from her still stampeding sister, she would have noticed the faint glow of orange on the very edge of her blade.
A mighty explosion ripped apart the world right before Luna, where Celestia once trampled the earth. The flames didn’t touch Luna, instead parting like forks in a river on either side of her. She was in a tunnel of flames, none daring mark her yet at the same time she didn’t dare touch them. All the oxygen had been ripped out of this new world Luna was trapped in, but she merely held her breath and hoped it’d pass before she needed to draw in air.
Finally the flames had passed, a miniature crater before her with smoke billowing out in an endless supply. On either side of Luna there were scorch marks that indicated a mighty blaze had passed by, and it just so happened to miss her entirely.
Slowly, Luna glanced over her shoulder to where the fire had passed her. Celestia stood there, or rather, her two halves. She was still wreathed in fire, a strange fluid not unlike blood dripping down her completely exposed side, the liquid melting the earth where it dripped. It was like someone had cut Celestia clean in half down the middle with a knife, which wasn’t too far off what Luna had done. Right now all Luna could register was surprise that Celestia was still standing upright with two separate halves.
Then she registered fear when she realized those halves were quickly becoming whole.
Celestia’s sides joined together in one piece once more, and her superheated blood stopped melting the earth to puddles. The flame wreathed Celestia turned to Luna, her lips twisted upward to a fiery smile.
“Good show, Luna, I didn’t think you had it in you. That actually hurt.” Celestia barked out another laugh. “Just a little.”
A circle of flames burned itself in the earth around Celestia, the flames acting in the same manner her golden whips from before had performed. Except this time the whips were more alive and deadly than ever, and now formed one giant column of shifting flames that towered over Luna like some cruel judgement of a malicious god.
“I wonder how much this shall hurt you,” Celestia said, dropping down the column in one smooth stroke right where Luna was standing.
Luna frowned. Her mind was spinning at the moment. No magic, at least no magic that any pony possessed, could simply mend a body from such a grievous wound. Sadly, she had no time to contemplate what she had just seen her sister do, since it seemed Celestia wasn’t inclined to give her that chance.
Luna flapped her wings hard and put several dozen yards between herself and Celestia as she flew backwards. The column crashed into the ground, just narrowly crushing her beneath it. The ground, as though finally caving in from all the abuse it had taken, cracked and split apart. Large fissures began to spiderweb down the battlefield, and Luna could smell the faint odor of sulphur and melting rock deep beneath the earth’s surface.
She took a few delicate steps back, grimacing as the ground began to bubble from the heat of their battle. She let out a snort as she glared up at Celestia.
“Just what magic did you delve into, sister? There is no magic, not even within our realm of power, that is powerful enough to mend one together like that. Where did you get such powers?” Luna asked, pointing her blade at her sister, an accusing expression on her features. “You say you knew of this darkness in your heart. I have never seen such powers, sister.” Her gaze narrowed. “Tell me, was insanity the cost of this power you possess? It would seem to be the case.”
“Insanity was the key, never the cost. My power never took from me, it only gave me what I needed. It opened my eyes, baby sister.” The flames dissipated from Celestia’s skin, extinguishing themselves to reveal her pearly white coat and untarnished armor. “It revealed to me a realm of possibilities unlike anything you had ever imagined.”
Luna attempted to twitch her sword to keep it pointed at Celestia as her sister walked around her, nonchalant in demeanor as always. But she found herself unable to move. It was as if an incredibly powerful physical will was imposing on her, preventing her from any movement at all. The weight of a mountain resided on her shoulders, while metal was poured into her bones as her muscles turned to stone. Celestia smirked, closing in on the circle she was walking around, with the prize of Luna directly in the center.
“You see, Equestria cannot go on as it does. Sombra, Tirek, Discord, they all have been threats only you and I could properly defeat. And the ponies we are sworn to protect and lead? They couldn’t even lift a hoof in hopes of defeating our foes.” Celestia snorted, a raspy chuckle leaving her lips. “Once you are disposed of, the Golden Age of Equestria shall finally begin. The land shall be burned and purified. The nation shall start anew. Those who survive shall become the leaders of this new world, along with being the perfect candidates to show what power and strength can accomplish. This Equestria shall be what the current one never could be. Strong, powerful, independent, but most of all, a bastion of the greatness ponykind can achieve. And never again shall a vile villain or imposing foe attempt to attack us.”
Celestia halted, staring up at the full moon just as it was about to reach its zenith. “Finally, Equestria shall be strong enough to survive without you or me. Only then shall my mission be complete.”
Luna swallowed hard. The weight pressing down upon her remained ever present. She couldn’t move. She could barely breathe.
Still…
“I was wrong about you, dear sister,” Luna exhaled deeply. “You aren’t insane, it would seem.”
The pressure lessened, if only a little. Celestia quirked an eyebrow, but gave no other outward sign of emotion.
“Insanity is trying to achieve a goal you could never hope to accomplish. Failure never even occurred to me.” A grin tugged at Celestia’s lips, ever so slightly. “Though that might be different for you, baby sister. Wouldn’t it?”
Luna shook her head. “In a way, I suppose what you say is true. Had I known you obtained such a ludicrous amount of power, I would have been less confrontational.” She stood up, the pressure lessening further. “However, I believe you have forgotten about something, Celestia.”
Luna’s horn ignited with a pale blue light. She took a few steps back from Celestia, and let out a breath. Celestia’s disinterested expression slowly morphed into one of curiosity as Luna became encircled in a magical circle of light. Luna’s eyes closed as archaic runes formed around her, glowing on the ground and emitting a soft hum.
Celestia recognized the spell instantly. A summoning spell. An advanced one, at that. One used to bring forth an object or being of great power. What Luna had in mind, though, Celestia could only guess.
She didn’t need to ponder long on what Luna was bringing forth, though. The runes were now pulsing, and Luna braced herself as a magical surge coursed through her. The midnight alicorn grit her teeth as six glowing orbs rose up from the magical ring surrounding her.
“It seems you forgot of our land’s strongest defense,” Luna said as the glowing orbs slowly dimmed, revealing six brightly colored gemstones, which now orbited around her. “You and I are both capable of using, in times of great peril, the Elements of Harmony. Or did you forget that you aren’t the only one who can bring them forth without assistance?”
The gems had formed a nearly transparent barrier around her, the faintest glow of a rainbow of color being the only indication that she was encased within a protective magic.
She took a step forward.
Celestia took a reflexive step back, her eyes narrowing.
Luna quirked an eyebrow.
“Well, it seems even you aren’t invincible to the Elements’ powers.” She channeled magic from the Elements into her body. While it would take some time for the Elements to truly activate their power, she could still harness enough of their magical energy to protect herself and perform stronger magic.
Luna closed her eyes and accepted the warm, inviting glow of the Elements within her. They seemed a little resistant to accept her control over them at first, which was a tad worrying, but she now felt that familiar connection of calm wash over her as they bonded with her. Each of the six gems gave their own unique aura, and each gave her a sense of comfort.
As Luna finished calling forth what magic she needed from them, she opened her eyes, which now were glowing with ethereal light. She looked upon Celestia… and let out a gasp.
The Elements had many powers at their disposal. Among them was the ability to see the aura of other living things. Most auras were a distinct color, be it yellow, a bright blue, even green. Each aura was unique.
Celestia’s aura, from what Luna could remember, was a radiant golden light. It just barely stayed within the alicorn’s body, faint wisps of the aura reaching out at times. Luna had once believed this to be part of what made other ponies feel so calm and safe around Celestia.
Now, though, that brilliant light was gone. In its place was a dark, shadowy mass that hung to Celestia’s form like a cloak. It writhed within her body, and much like Celestia’s aura, it stretched out from her body at times, though it did not bring forth comfort. No, instead a feeling of dread and foreboding accompanied it.
Then, Luna saw it. A sliver of light, floating within the mass of shadows. The shadows hovered around it, as though waiting to devour it at any moment. For some reason though, they didn’t.
Celestia… Luna felt her throat tighten. Whatever she had been fighting all this time… whatever demented creature that was standing before her right now was… Luna now knew one thing for certain.
It was not Celestia.
“That explains things, then,” Luna said with a cold edge in her tone. With a new sense of determination in her movements, Luna called forth more of the Elements' magic. With a pulse of chromatic light, Luna slammed Celestia back. This time, the fiery alicorn was flung back, letting out a surprised cry as she was thrown into a nearby slab of stone that had been uprooted from their fight.
Luna teleported herself so that she was in front of the thing that was not Celestia, and said in a steely voice. “I am addressing the entity within my sister.” Luna leered forth, the Elements whirling around her, inches away from the pinned alicorn before her. “Who, or what are you? Speak.”
“Words. Such a troubling thing to remember. Language is but a staple of idiocracy to speak for those whose minds are too simple to understand true communication,” the entity within Celestia spoke. His voice, surprisingly enough, was not sinister like Luna was expecting. Rather, it was hollow, like someone whispering deep within a cave. He laughed, Celestia parting open her lips so that his dull chuckles rolled like pebbles against the earth. “But that matters little for you, does it? What I say, who I am, and what I am are simply too grand encompasses for your trivial mind to understand.”
Luna quirked an eyebrow. “Too grand, you say?” Luna took a step forward. “I don’t care if you are some elder god from a plane of existence above my own. You are inside of my sister, and have possessed her. That is more than enough reason for me to have some explanation.”
She grabbed a hold of Celestia’s body by the neck with her magic, pulling her so that she was inches from her own muzzle. The elder alicorn’s body pressed against the barrier encompassing Luna now. “If I cannot convince you to explain yourself through words…” Luna grip tightened further. “... well… Celestia’s body was always sturdier than she had given it credit for.”
Luna lifted Celestia up from the ground. “Last chance, whatever you are. Explain yourself, or pray that I show you some mercy. I will warn you, though, I have always had a harder time controlling my anger than Celestia.”
“Do you think I can feel physical pain, child of the night?” The entity barked out another laugh, the echoes traveling down to the center of the earth and back with their volume. “Wound your kin all you want. Matters little to me, since I need only a drop of blood to bring her back. But you’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you? Hurting your precious older sister, making her feel the pain you’ve lived with for so long now.”
Celestia smiled against the barrier, he face pressed so close that blood was beginning to be drawn from her lip. The flames her body had once been composed of had petered out, although embers still sizzled on her coat. “It was so easy. You know that, right? To alienate you. Isolate you in your hovel like the little outcast you are. I didn’t even have to whisper in your ear every other night. You were already mouthing the words of your betrayal far before I ever got involved. The knife was already there.” The blood dripped down the side of the barrier, like a river on an empty plane. “I just gave it a twist.
“What I am is something you could never understand. I am the creature that stands one-one thousandth inches at the edge of your vision, waiting and watching as your eyes strain to see. I am the shadow the light does not direct, the one that follows you without the darkness for direction. I am the emptiness of the night that no stars fill, the cold spot of nothingness that none can replace.” A sickening cackle escaped Celestia’s lips, her blood bubbling to a boil against the barrier. “I was once the thing that stood at the doorway, waiting to enter. The one you would never let in. But I’m here now. And I’ll never leave.”
Luna wouldn’t lie to herself: the creature’s words sent a chill down her spine. Luckily, the Elements were helping counteract that feeling of dread. Still…
“Would I enjoy hurting Celestia? In a way… yes, I would. At least, that would have been the case before I knew the truth behind her actions,” Luna answered.
“Truth? You want truth, child?” The entity laughed, his voice croaked instead of hollow, a course sound of sandpaper against glass leaving Celestia’s lips. “The truth is that Celestia barely needed tempting. She was all too prepared to accept my power for what it would entail. And really, did you ever really have any doubt about that?” Celestia’s pupils shrank, her eyes widening to dinner plates. “You saw what she was capable of. What she did when there was no other choice. You know. Oh yes, you know. You know all about it. You fooled yourself into thinking you were the one with a dark side. A side that needed to be controlled. But at the end of the day, just like always, you were runner-up to your sister. Just a drop compared to an ocean.”
The younger alicorn winced at the entity’s words. “I won’t deny that your words hold truth. Yet, I’ve come to realize something about my sister…” Luna exhaled slowly, and the Elements paused in their orbit around her. She moved Celestia’s body away from the barrier.
“Celestia, like myself, is flawed. Imperfect. A pony. A brilliant, wonderful pony, but still, only equine.” She smiled. “Your words, while they hurt, leave no scars that aren’t already there.” She flexed her wings, and a stream of chromatic energy surged into her body. “In my jealousy, I forgot something important about Celestia.” She smiled. “Do you know what it might be?”
“That she was always the favorite child?” the entity quipped, a sneaky chuckle following soon after.
Luna clucked her tongue, and shook her head. “You have quite the sharp tongue, thing. Regardless, that wasn’t what I was referring to.”
Luna lifted a foreleg, which was now glowing with the magic of the arcane gems floating around her. “In my jealousy, I forgot one of the most important things about Celestia: that I love her, and will do anything to save her. Even if it means bringing her within an inch of Death’s door to do so.”
The entity’s smile faltered, if only a little.
Luna smirked. “I’m sure my sister will understand.”
With that, Luna threw a punch with her foreleg. The loose rocks and debris on the ground bounced into the air as Luna’s hoof connected with Celestia’s jaw, and a pulse of rainbow-saturated power followed immediately after.
Celestia’s body flew through the outer rim of trees that had miraculously avoided Celestia and Luna’s buck. Her body bounced several times before coming to an abrupt halt as it smashed into a large boulder, which crumbled as the alicorn’s body fell to the ground.
Luna appeared before the laughing form of Celestia, who was now bleeding from her mouth and nose. Her right wing appeared broken, but Luna had no doubt that the being within could repair that with little difficulty.
Lifting Celestia up once more, Luna studied the aura of inky blackness within her sister. Her eyes widened a fraction.
The faint bead of light that was Celestia’s life force had grown. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.
Did the Elements do that…?
Luna channeled more of the Element’s power into her body, extending it into her legs and wings. “Well, I’d say that was a successful test.” She placed a hoof under Celestia’s chin, ignoring the blood that dribbled onto her black fur. “Now, let me show you why even Celestia couldn’t beat me in martial arts.”
With a heave of her magic, Luna flung Celestia into the air. She flapped her wings hard, and pushed into the air. She met Celestia’s airborne form, and flipped forward once, slamming her forelegs down on Celestia’s ribs.
Celestia’s body plummeted to the ground, creating a crater from the impact and uprooting a few trees in the process. Luna gave no pause though in her assault, landing on her sister’s gut with her forelegs. She pressed down on Celestia’s stomach, and pivoted around so that her hind legs were now aimed at her sister.
A loud crack, followed by another pulse of chromatic light, was heard throughout the woods. Seconds later, a white blur rocketed out of the forest. It eventually landed several miles outside of the Everfree in a nearby valley. A few wild apple trees had been destroyed in the wake of Celestia’s landing, their broken trunks and upturned roots paving a clear path to her fallen form.
Luna teleported a few yards from her sister’s body. Just like before, she saw a bit more of Celestia’s light appearing within the dark shadow stirring within.
Hold on, sister. I’m coming for you…
Luna slowly made her way towards Celestia, whose eyes remained open, watching the midnight alicorn with amusement. Her nose was broken now, and there were signs of bruises and fractured bones along her body. Even so, Luna could see Celestia’s light, slowly growing brighter.
Luna could only hope that her sister could hold out a little longer for her.
Celestia lifted herself to all fours, a crack and loud pop indicating she either had a broken foreleg, dislocated shoulder, or both. She turned her head sharply to the left and up, pops like rain against a pan echoing across the stillness of the land. The white of her coat could barely be described as luxurious anymore, instead stained by blood and grime from Luna’s assault. The only part of Celestia that remained untouched was her smile, the pearly whites of her teeth only broken up by the pale red of the blood that still coursed down her split lip. Her eyes, however, were the part Luna had to admit were the most changed. They weren’t Celestia’s. They were the same color, the same size, the exact same in every which way. But the warmth of her sister’s soul wasn’t behind them. There was only… nothing.
“Good show, child of the night’s bounty. Did you learn those moves during those little squabbles you fought in, or had you been preparing to hurt your sister in such a way long before I entered the picture?” The entity snorted, shaking Celestia’s head. “Wait, pardon me for asking the obvious.”
Embers began to fizzle at Celestia’s hooves. The grime started to dissipate from her coat, the bruises and cuts fading like rainfall washing the impurities of nature away in the dirt. “However, your parlor tricks are beginning to bore me. Although, for your sister I’m willing to bet it was an overall… interesting experience.” Celestia winked. “She can still hear us, you know. And feel what you did. I didn’t myself, but from how loud your sister is screaming, it wasn’t very pleasant. Now, is that any way to play with your sister?”
“I…” Luna paused. She studied those empty, violet eyes that were her sisters, yet not. Stars above, she could only imagine how much that had hurt Celestia. She knew Celestia was strong of will and mind, but Luna had always been the ‘warrior’ between the two of them. Pain, while never a pleasant thing, had become less of a problem for her over the centuries that she and Celestia had protected their land.
“No. It is not. What I do to her is far from forgivable, but what you have done is far worse. Taking away one’s free will, whatever the circumstances may be, is something that not even I would dream of.” She glared at the shadow before her. For a moment, she could have sworn that the mass of darkness had paused, and looked at her, not through Celestia, but with its own eyes… if it had any.
She slowly made her way towards Celestia. Her eyes flitted to the sky above. She could see the moon slowly rising towards its zenith. All she needed was a few more minutes.
“Though, now that I take a moment and look at you, it seems you’re not faring as well as you claim to be.” She directed a hoof at the alicorn before her. “Or am I wrong?”
She waited for no reply, crossing the distance between herself and Celestia within a few short seconds. She crouched low and spun around, her back legs catching Celestia squarely in the chest. She caught her with her magic, and pulled her in.
Luna rained down an assault of hooves upon Celestia, each one delivering a sickening thud that she tried her best to ignore. She continued to push Celestia further and further back. All the while, the thing within her sister laughed, driving her to deliver harsher and harsher blows.
Eventually Luna kicked Celestia towards the foot of a small mountain. The conifers surrounding its lowest point swayed, cracked, and in a few cases, toppled over as Celestia’s body broke through them. Before Celestia could rise back to her hooves, Luna was upon her, driving her into the rocky face of the mountainside. Before long, even the rocks themselves couldn’t hold back the force behind Luna’s blows, and a small fissure began forming.
Further and further Luna pushed Celestia, her eyes locked with the continually glowing orb of light within Celestia. She held back the tears, silently pleading that her sister would forgive her when this was all over.
The mountain finally gave in, and Luna kicked her sister clear through the other side. Small boulders, shards of iron ore, and snow rained down to the earth as Luna followed her sister’s descent back to the ground.
Luna’s ears twitched as Celestia landed on her side, hitting a chunk of granite from the mountain’s core with a sickening crunch. She approached Celestia, and in a calm voice said, “Sister. Whatever pain you are going through right now, I can only beg that you will forgive me for it later. Berate me, hate me for it, disown me if you must… but I am not letting this thing within you win. I will free you from it, no matter the cost.”
The moon reached its peak now in the night sky. The Elements of Harmony stopped orbiting around Luna, coming to an abrupt halt as she opened her wings fully.
“Now… you vile creature, whatever you may be. This is your end.”
The once fragile light that had been Celestia’s life force was now almost completely returned. Luna smiled. “It seems you’ve underestimated what we ponies can do. For that, you will lose everything: my sister, her powers, and your control over the flames of the sun itself.” The barrier faded around Luna, then disappeared altogether as Luna redirected the power flowing around her into a spell. A few moments passed, and the Elements began to crackle with magic. “The Elements have power over even you, shadow. Begone!”
The Elements began to hum, Luna standing at ready to release their magic upon the darkness.
Celestia, hold on! Just a little longer!
Celestia lifted herself once more to her hooves. Now, her coat didn’t even bother to repair itself. Blood flowed freely and bone from a broken back leg could be seen poking through the skin. But it mattered little to her, and even less to him.
Then, with a frightening speed that not even a lighting bolt could match, Celestia moved to close the distance between the two sisters that now only left them a hoof’s length apart. Luna only had time to blink before Celestia’s hoof smashed into her jaw, a cinderblock of force knocking out several of her teeth and nearly cracking the bone. Luna barely had time to register this pain in her mind before her collarbone snapped like a twig from a backhand strike from Celestia, almost passive in movement.
“You think the Elements have power over me?! Those trinkets? Don’t make me laugh! The humor is much too dry for my tastes.” Celestia raised her hoof, and then Luna felt sharp pain in her foreleg. Looking down, she saw that it was bent at an unnatural angle. She hadn’t even seen Celestia move. “The only power they have is over creatures of this realm. Your sister and, of course, Discord, not being excluded.”
Celestia smiled, and Luna found herself knocked off her hooves, wind flying out of her lungs along with blood that spattered to the ground around her. It was as if two stones of considerable weight had smashed together her ribs, intestines, and organs and almost turned them into a mushy paste. Celestia pushed down a hoof against Luna’s throat, the Elements still orbiting overhead and casting sinister shadows down Celestia’s blood-soaked feral grin.
“Your sister would suffer the consequences of their might, not I. I would only be temporarily displaced once the Elements were done with Celestia’s body, but no worse for wear. Celestia herself? Well… Let’s just say that I was only a host in Discord’s body for little under a year. You know full well how long I’ve resided in your sister, feeding her power, melding with her; us becoming one.” Some of Celestia’s blood dripped down from her smile onto Luna’s cheek, burning her coat. “The Elements do not care who they smite. Without me, Celestia would be reduced to nothing but a newborn foal in strength, and once the Elements were done with her…” The entity laughed.
Luna made no attempt to fight back. She wouldn’t now, even if she could. If she had, if she understood correctly, she would ensure that Celestia would die. The Elements of Harmony, while indeed a powerful collection of artifacts geared towards peace and harmony, had no conscience. The magical artifacts simply did what would work best to bring balance back to the land. No doubt Celestia had been identified as a source of destruction by the artifacts. If destroying her was the best way to bring back peace, then they would do so.
Luna gazed up at her sister’s face, which was twisted into a mocking grin. Luna smiled, despite the current situation. She struggled to speak as her sister’s hoof pressed against her throat. “You haven’t won. Even if Celestia dies… even if I fail…” Luna coughed, the taste of iron on her tongue. “...someone will stop you. That is… the way things are meant to be. Power… will always be balanced out.” She chuckled weakly as Celestia’s smirk faded. “For every force placed upon the universe… an equal one will react to it.”
Luna’s eyes drifted upon the Elements, which were still moving on their own. A blinding light was now being emitted from them, the shrill tone they were emitting almost deafening.
“You… have lost.”
Luna’s eyes closed as she lost consciousness. She could only put her trust in the Elements now, and pray that Celestia’s death would be a swift and painless one. With any luck, perhaps Luna would join her shortly after.